The arts are in a constant state of evolution. Amid the fear and trepidation dominating the headlines, with predictions of a tech-driven AI takeover of everything from the stock market to the page and stage, there are creatives who are harnessing the possibilities rather than accepting peril. They embrace the new, color outside the lines, and explore territories that once seemed beyond the reach of their art. Such is the case with Baltimore’s Orange Grove Dance. These folks are absolutely fearless. In their latest production, NEVERMORE, this daring, boundary-pushing company harnesses state-of-the-art technology and superb performers to create something totally original.
When BmoreArt approached me back in the spring of 2026 about writing a profile on Orange Grove Dance, I thought, “This is cool. My background is in dance and theatre, and it sounds like this company combines the best of both worlds.” I had no idea how far beyond that combination the company and their founding artists—Colette Krogol and Matt Reeves—would take me.
Seven thousand recorded words later, the Orange Grove Dance profile appeared in BmoreArt’s Print Issue 21: The Future last spring. On the cover, at that, doncha know?
Through that story, my anticipation for NEVERMORE—the culminating production from OGD’s residency at Baltimore’s pioneering black box performing arts theater, incubator, and research lab, The Voxel—racheted even higher. After seeing the performance last week, I found the payoff worth every bit of the wait.
NEVERMORE takes Edgar Allan Poe’s masterful poem The Raven as the basis for its concept. But choreographers are less interested in depicting the poem itself than in exploring the emotions, fears, and musings that led Poe to envision that opus. A poet, fiction writer, and editor, Poe’s melancholia was well documented, and this piece delves deep into his dark psyche. Through movements that are sometimes tortured, sometimes exuberant, and always on point, we are invited into the wettest channels of Poe’s mind with each actor portraying various emotions or events in the life of the poet.
Amid the twists and turns in the ankle-deep water covering the stage, the actors leap and lift, sometimes writhing on the floor until they are all but submerged.
Orange Grove prides itself on the collaborative nature of its choreography. While the company’s directors, Colette Krogol and Matt Reeves, set the ideas in motion, they actively incorporate contributions from the other company members; referred to as “collaborators” on the company website. This collective approach allows the ensemble to work toward a shared vision while drawing on the individual talents of its members. The result is a masterful tapestry of dance, performance art, and technology, woven into visually stunning images.
And the collaboration doesn’t stop with the dance. Company members bring additional talents to the process, contributing as designers and applying their technical skills to projections and costumes.
But with the possibilities available to the production through The Voxel, NEVERMORE is not only about the performers on the stage; it’s about the stage itself. In the show, water itself becomes a vital player onstage, not merely the basis for the action. The directors have assembled a team of artistically gifted—damn near magical—technicians. I can’t imagine the precise control required to make water arc just so, land exactly where it’s supposed to, and twirl in perfect synchronization with the actors, lights, and music.
Krogol and Reeves invest considerable energy in creating works that use multiple elements of stage design to craft one-of-a-kind performances, rich in fascinating detail. Reeves says, “We strive to be a company that brings dance to the forefront of a digital world, to bring our humanity face to face with technology so that we might have a meaningful relationship… so that we might dance together instead of antagonize each other.” Reeves designed the media and projections, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t figure out how to use water as a medium for projecting images. As if his contribution to the choreography were not enough, his command of the required technology is awesome.
Alec Sparks is credited with the water system and scenic design. This guy must be some kind of scary genius to coerce running water into doing exactly what it’s told, precisely when it’s supposed to do it. Through his wizardry, the stage literally rained—ranging from a gentle mist with swirling fog to a full-on downpour.
Peter Leibold VI designed the lights, with brilliantly executed pin spots that widen and contract in perfect synchronization with the music and movements. Sudden bursts of light on the dark stage reflect off the water, creating an entirely otherworldly atmosphere.
Dylan Glatthorn’s music is by turns soothingly eerie, jarring, disturbing, and a little frightening, but always exactly right for the action. It adds another dimension, allowing us not only to hear but to feel the confusion and fear, elation and exhaustion that were part of Poe’s mind.
The entire ensemble is laser-focused on the story. The timing of the movements, meshing with the music and technical elements, is outstanding. Faces express every imaginable emotion. The swirling flare of skirts and jackets, the water pitched into arcs and designs, the splashes and dashes—all become part of the show.
The artistry of this production’s dancers is remarkable. Each is obviously well-trained, with backgrounds in modern dance and ballet. But the elements that have shaped dance in the past are reimagined and expanded with NEVERMORE. OGD takes the genre to new heights. Together, the performers and the kinetic power of the choreography make for a marvelously entertaining evening. Strolling along the contours of Poe’s convoluted mind, encountering his demons and distractions, is a tour de force of dance-making 2.0.
We are so lucky to have a venue like The Voxel in Baltimore, with the vision to create a space where groundbreaking theatre can be presented. Orange Grove Dance is the venue’s perfect match, another bright jewel in our city’s artistic firmament.
NEVERMORE runs through October 18th, 2026 at The Voxel: 9 W 25th Street, Baltimore, MD. Tickets available here.
